Miles Anderson | |
Birth Name: | Miles John Anderson |
Term Start3: | 14 October 2023 |
Parliament3: | New Zealand |
Predecessor3: | Jacqui Dean |
Party: | National |
Miles John Anderson (born) is a New Zealand farmer and politician. He was elected as a Member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for Waitaki, representing the National Party, in the 2023 New Zealand general election. From a farming background, he was with Federated Farmers, chaired one of their national bodies, and was on their national board.
Anderson was born in,[1] and grew up in Southburn, a locality in the Waimate district. His family had farmed in the area for generations. He was educated at Southburn School, followed by St Kevin's College in Oamaru as a boarder.[2] He went on to study at Massey University, from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Agriculture degree in 1992.[3] [4]
After university, Anderson joined other farmers in 1992 to set up a livestock ultrasound scanning service. Initially servicing the central South Island, the company expanded into South Australia. Anderson was involved in that company for 20 years. He took over a 220ha farm from his father in 2004; he mainly runs sheep.
Anderson was the chair of Federated Farmers' South Canterbury Meat and Fibre in 2016.[5] He was then the national chair of the group from 2017 to 2020, and had it renamed to Meat & Wool so that wool would get more prominence.[6] He was spokesperson for Federated Farmers on rural security.[7] In this role, he supported the Sixth Labour Government's gun reform following the Christchurch mosque shootings that resulted in the Arms (Prohibited Firearms, Magazines, and Parts) Amendment Act 2019,[8] but criticised the lack of an exemption for semi-automatic rifles for pest control.[9]
Upon his election to parliament, Anderson leased out his farm.[10]
Anderson was selected by the National Party to contest the safe electorate of Waitaki at the, succeeding Jacqui Dean who had held the seat since the .[11] He was 59th on the 2023 party list.[12]
The election night results showed Anderson had been elected with a 10,359-vote majority over Labour's Ethan Reille. Following the release of the final results on 3 November 2023, Anderson's margin increased to 12,151.[13]